Headphones are generally a pair of small loudspeakers, or less commonly a single speaker, with a way of holding them close to a user's ears and a means of connecting them to an audio signal source. Headphones may also be known as stereophones or headsets. In particular, the in-ear versions of headphones may be known as earphones or earbuds. Headphones can be used both with fixed equipment (e.g., audio amplifier, radio, CD or DVD player, personal computer, and/or any other fixed audio signal source) and with portable/mobile audio devices (e.g., digital audio player, MP3 player, mobile telephone, mobile smartphone, or any other portable/mobile audio signal source).
Headphones may couple to one or more audio signal sources with a wired connection, a wireless connection, and/or a combination thereof. Wired headphones are generally attached to an audio signal source with 6.35 mm (¼″) and 3.5 mm TRS connectors and sockets. The larger 6.35 mm connector tends to be found on fixed location home or professional audio equipment while the 3.5 mm “minijack” connector may be common on portable/mobile audio devices. Alternately, wireless (e.g., cordless) headphones are not connected to the audio signal source via a wire and may alternately receive the audio encoded in a radio or infrared transmission link. Common wireless transmission links may correspond to Bluetooth or Wi-Fi (I.E.E.E. 802.1n) standards, in particular for mobile audio devices, mobile phones, and/or mobile smartphones.
As introduced, in-ear versions of the headphones (e.g., earphones and earbuds) are headphones of a much smaller size that are placed directly outside, adjacent, or at least partially within the ear canal. Earphones or earbuds that are placed outside the ear canal may generally be inexpensive and may be favored for their portability and convenience. However, they may provide little or any isolation from the noise of the user's environment and/or surroundings. Accordingly, the outside earphones or earbuds are often used at higher volumes in order to drown out the environmental noise, potentially contributing to hearing damage or permanent hearing loss.
Higher quality earphones or earbuds may extend at least partially within the ear canal. The location at least partly within the ear canal may improve the isolation of the earphones or earbuds from environmental and/or surrounding noise. Earphones or earbuds configured as such may include one or more additional isolating elements, components, and/or portions to increase the isolation. For example, the earphones or earbuds may include a sleeve, one or more baffles, or the like to more snugly fit at least partly within the ear canals to improve isolation. The sleeves, baffles, and the like may be commonly formed from silicone rubber, elastomer, and/or foam that may conform to the ear canal into which the sleeve or baffle is at least party inserted, for noise isolation.
A number of devices have provided earphones or earbuds with various designs and/or features. The following represents a list of known related art:
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The teachings of each of the above-listed citations are herein incorporated by reference. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.